Songs About Jane [Bonus Tracks]Live Friday the 13thRhythms del Mundo: CubaWedding MusicWon't Go Home Without YouSunday Morning [Bonus Tracks]Harder to BreatheSongs About Jane/It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Beauty queen of only eighteen she
Had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her, she
Always belonged to someone else

I drove for miles and miles and wound up
At your door
I've had you so many times but somehow I want more

I don't mind spendin' everyday
Out on your corner in the pourin' rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved, and she will be loved

Tap on my window, knock on my door, I
Want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore

It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along yeah
My heart is full, and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want yeah

I don't mind spendin' everyday
Out on your corner in the pourin' rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved, and she will be loved
And she will be loved, and she will be loved

I know where you hide alone in your car
Know all of the things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and makes me catch her every time she
Falls

Yeah, tap on my window, knock on my door, I
Want to make you feel beautiful

I don't mind spendin' everyday
Out on your corner in the pourin' rain oh
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved, and she will be loved
And she will be loved, and she will be loved

Please don't try so hard to say good-bye
I don't mind spendin' everyday, out on your corner in the pourin' rain
Please don't try so hard to say good-bye

290 Comments

My InterpretationTo me it's always seemed really obvious what the song is talking about, and none of the other comments have close to my interpretation, so here it is.

It's about a "nice guy" that is in a friends with benefits type situation. He's in love with the girl, but she doesn't love him, at least not in the same way. He's always been there for her when things go badly for her, but she's always going for other guys and then coming back to him when she's upset that things didn't work out.

To her he's the rebound guy that'll always be there for him, and that's it.

It's about a guy friend who is strictly just a friend that she keeps going to as a security blanket. He gets none of the other benefits other than to help her feel beautiful which gives him a seemingly unfulfilled happiness

he feels like his insecurity gets in the way because she waiting for or involved with someone who can sweep her off her feet and he's not that type, but his door is always open because he'll always be waiting.

i just hope for his sake he's smart enough to keep his options open because waiting usually doesn't work out. they just move on to the next thing that sweeps them off their feet.

Maybe. I still think she's using him for sex though, whenever she's on the rebound. These lines imply that to me:

"I’ve had you so many times but somehow I want more"

"Ask her if she wants to stay awhile"

"Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls"

I think she thinks of him as a friend with benefits, while he truly loves her. And I agree that this is going nowhere good for him. Even if she finally settled for him, she'd probably never feel the way about him that he feels for her.

General CommentThis is my favorite song, ever. My favorite version, however is not the general pop verison, but the 1.22.03 Acoustic [EP]. Also, while I do love this song, I don't like the video. That could have been what the band was trying to get the song to say, but I think it would have been much sweeter had they done one with best friends, and the boy loves the girl. More people could relate to that and it's cuter. Now, to interpret the music. This is my opinion and I am using the theory that it is about 2 boy and girl best friends, but the boy loves her as more.
Now,
Beauty queen of only eighteen ... they're around 18, this establishes from the beginning that he believes she is beautiful
She had some trouble with herself ... this may mean that she doesn't see herself as beautiful and doesn't think of herself fondly, and is sad sometimes. she has troubles with herself that he doesn't see, he thinks she is perfect.
He was always there to help her ... i know this says "he" was always there... but i think it's referring to the best friend, because he's always there for the girl
She always belonged to someone else ... she goes through a lot of boyfriends and always belonged to other people, never truly to the "best friend" even though he was there through all of them

I drove for miles and miles And wound up at your door ... he'd go anywhere for her and go to her house to help her at any time, or maybe he drove to think and get away from the situation, and although he tries to get away from the situation he's in, he loves her and always winds up back with her
I’ve had you so many times ... maybe they were dating at some point, or maybe he's just saying how they spend a lot of time together
But somehow I want more ... he wants more out of their relationship, or maybe he's saying even though they're together a lot he wants to be together more, like the second she leaves he missed her, that sort of thing

I don’t mind spending every day Out on your corner in the pouring rain ... he would do anything for this girl, and will do anything for her as long as he lives, no matter where or when, he loves her so much he doesn't mind.
Look for the girl with the broken smile ... he helps her when she's sad, just out of a relationship or hating on herself or whatever other reason, so he's looking for her when she's sad
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile ... and he asks her basically if she wants to stay and talk to him, which she always does
And she will be loved
She will be loved ... and he's saying he'll listen to her saying whatever's bothering her and love her and make her feel better

Tap on my window knock on my door I want to make you feel beautiful ... when she doesnt feel beautiful or she feels unloved he wants her to come to him so he can make her feel better
I know I tend to get insecure ... doing all this for her makes him insecure or unhappy, at the fact that he sees her unhappy and cant do that much about it, and that she doesnt love him like that and he sees her with other people.
It doesn’t matter anymore ... but it doesnt matter that he's insecure, his love for her means that he's sacrificing his security and happiness to make her happy and secure

It’s not always rainbows and butterflies
It’s compromise that moves us along ... he's compromising his happiness for hers, so it's not always rainbows and butterflies (lighthearted, pretty, nice, happy things) it's compromise and sacrifice that keeps her (and all of us) going
My heart is full and my door’s always open ... his heart is full of love for her and he's always open to her and is always open to hear what she has to say
You can come anytime you want ... this refers to "my door's always open" as in he's always open to hear what she has to say and how she feels, at any time. he just wants her to come to him becuase he loves her and loves when shes with him, so it doesnt matter to him what time.

I don’t mind spending every day ... already analyzed this, see above
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
And she will be loved
She will be loved

I know where you hide Alone in your car ... he knows where she goes to get away from her unhappiness and insecurities
Know all of the things that make you who you are ... they really are best friends, he knows everything about her and loves all of it
I know that goodbye means nothing at all ... she probably says goodbye to him a lot, like when she's in a relationship with someone else and she feels she doesn't need him, or if she knows he loves her she might try to say goodbye to their friendship because she knows it is hurting him that she doesnt feel the same way, and she cares a lot about her friend and doesnt want him to be hurt
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls ... but he knows that whatever reason she says goodbye, she needs him and always comes back to him when she's fallen, because he is always there to catch her and makes her feel better

Tap on my window knock on my door ... i've already interpreted all of the rest of the song above
I want to make you feel beautiful

I don’t mind spending every day
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
And she will be loved
She will be loved

Basically, this is a really moving a beautiful song and I relate to it so much, I just can't believe it.

I agree with most of your interpretation, but I think she uses him for sex as well when she needs comforting. And she's probably aware of how he feels, she just doesn't feel the same way. She cares about him, but she falls in love with other guys, not him.

Also I think this line means something entirely different:

"It’s not always rainbows and butterflies
It’s compromise that moves us along"

I think he's saying that just because she doesn't feel the butterflies for him doesn't mean their relationship couldn't be great. He wants her to compromise and settle for him because he'll treat her better than her other boyfriends have.

If anyone here has seen Six Feet Under, I think the relationship between Nate and Lisa back in Seattle is a perfect example of what this song is talking about. It's sung from Lisa's perspective, about Nate.

General CommentI'm not so convinced on the prostitute theory. I think it's just about his relationship with a girlfriend that keeps changing her mind about being with him, and how he's always there waiting when she finds her way back because there's just something about her that is so special to him that no matter how flighty she is with him, or how mixed up mentally she seems, and no matter how insecure it makes him feel... he's just hooked on her as a whole. She must be like a weakened, cute, little animal to him... he just feels compelled to help her.

General CommentIt’s not always rainbows and butterflies
It’s compromise that moves us along ===>>> one of the best lines ever wrote!!! love is wonderfull what the song tells me!!! there is always something good will come if you'll just wait...

I don’t mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved ====>>> this is waht i am doing right now! i wouldn't mind waiting for months, years or decades because only one girl can only make me happy! jazz, i know we are in deep shit right now and i know we are both confuse with everything about us. love is not always rainbows and butterlies, there will always be a shit but its compromise that wiill move us along.

My InterpretationI've always loved Maroon 5, and this song can make me cry.

If you watch the video for this song, it's clear that Adam (singer) is in a relationship with a girl. However, he has feelings for and cares deeply about his girlfriend's mother. Her mother is in a relationship with a man who abuses her (hits her etc.) and Adam wants her to be happy and wants to make her feel special and treat her how she deserves... ("I wanna make you feel beautiful").

He is stuck between the girl and her mother but we get the impression that he cares more for the mother. And by the expressions on the mother's face and her body language whenever Adam is with her daughter, we sense that the feeling is mutual, and that she possibly wants to be with him.

The only thing that confuses me is how he says "beauty queen of only 18" which obviously, can't be about the mother... he must be on about his girlfriend... so why does he mention that? Or maybe, since it sounds like he's telling a story, he's explaining that this has been going on for a long time, so maybe since back when the mother was 18, and he knows this, and has always felt this way. Maybe he got together with her daughter to get close to her mother.

______________________

But before I watched the video, I had a different theory...

He's talking about a "beauty queen" who is eighteen years old and she's had "trouble with herself." Problems such as relationship/financial problems maybe? Herself and Adam could've had a continuous love affair which was kind of an on and off thing. But due to the problems she was facing in her life, she resorted to prostitution. Which explains how he's "had" her "so many times." He says he wants more, which could mean the obvious - more sex, or more as in more than a physical relationship. He probably cares for her very deeply and is probably in love with her. "I know where you hide, alone in your car" - maybe she has nowhere to sleep (fincancial problems again) and sleeps in her car.

General CommentBased on lyrics and the video: The song is about someone waiting in the wings, watching someone that is in a bad relationship She is with someone for the wrong reasons. "Trouble with herself" is about her possibly being insecure and staying in this abusive relationship. "HE was ALWAYS there to help her" refers to the singer talking about himself in the 3rd person, meaning in his mind he was always there to rescue her, if she would come to him (or notice him) However, he realizes it's not his place, because she "belongs to someone else". He notices her, watches her, perhaps could be seen as "stalking" but we won't go there. In his mind he has fantasizes what it be like if he "had you so many times before" but it's not enough. He "somehow wants more" He wants her in reality. He will be patient and wait and contemplates to ask her to give him some time. If she does, she WILL be loved. He is looking for a opportunity, for her to notice him "knock on my door". He's shy but it doesn't matter. Life is a compromise. "My heart is full ...." line says, I love you anytime you're ready. "I know where you hide alone in your car...." line refers to feeling like he knows more about her by simply observing her. "I know that goodbye means nothing at all.." refers to her leaving each time to go back to her bad relationship. However, he's saying he'll always be there for her to catch her.....

I couldn't agree with your post more. What's the difference between faith and hope? LOVE - Which rises the question, what in the world would inspire someone to want to cheat? And, if your partner is always trying to fight with you, without caring about how it makes you feel, it makes you wonder if they've already won. But, from a rational perspective, that wouldn't be a thought worth entertaining. But, just the same, without compromise; It doesn't matter anymore. I guess that is why I love this song so much. Interesting....

General CommentI've always needed a life-quote, don't ask me why, I just needed one. And the lines "It's not always rainbows and butterflies. It's compromise that moves us along." hits me hard. I may not quote it everywhere, but it has become somehting I'll never forget. Their whole album is perfection. Their album as Kara's Flowers is pretty kick-ass too. But nothing beats Led Zepplin. Nothing.

General CommentI don't buy the prostitute idea. To me this song is the musical equivalent to the Forrest/Jenny relationship in Forrest Gump. He is completely devoted to her but she doesn't/can't/won't commit to him. Because he is, and has always been, so devoted she feels he is her safety net in case other relationships don't work. This seems to be a pretty popular theme in music. Or maybe it's me :-)